Machine for separating and cleaning cotton-seed meal



` FIG.;

VE. J. OBRIEN 85H. FRANCK. Machine for-Separating and Cleaning Cotton Seed Meel.

N. PETERS. Flwlol-ihographer. Wzshingkm. D. C.

ATT EST I UNITED STATES dPA'Tnvr Ormea.

EDWARD J. OBRIEN vAND HENRY FRANCK, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI; SAID FRANCK ASSIGNOR TO DENNIS J. OKEEFE, OF SAME PLACE.

MACHINE FOR SEPARATING AND CLEANING COTTON-SEED MEAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 241,560,.dated May 17, 1881.-

Application filed January 26, 1880.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that we, EDWARD J. OBRIEN and HENRY FRANCK, of the city of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented a certain Improvement in Machines for Separating and Cleaning Cotton-Seed Meal, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, and to the letters of reference marked 1o thereon. l

The object of this invention is to clean the cotton-seed meal after ithas passed through the huller, and remove the fuzzy matter or lint7 and black speck 7 from the same before it is crushed and submitted to pressure to extract its oil.

In this machine the cotton-seed meal is fed onto a series of grading-screens arranged adjustably in a slightly-inclined position. 'lhese 2o screens grade and separate the finer from the coarser particles of the meal before it passes over the tails Vof the screens,where the tailings are exposed to a current of air drawn across the ends of the screens by means of afan having a suction-opening on or below the line of the upper one of the screens, as will hereinafter more fully appear.

In the drawings, Figure l is a longitudinal section. Fig. 2 is a top plan.

The cotton-seed meal, as it comes from the revolving screens, is fed into the separator through opening A of the casin g and falls onto the upper end ofthe vibrating screens or shakers B, which are arranged in a sli gh tly-inclined 3 5 position, as shown. The two upper screens are perforated with different-sized perforations, so as to grade and separate the ner from the coarser particles ofthe meal; and the lower one of the screens is formed without perforations, so as to conduct the particles of meal from the next screen above into a proper position to be acted upon by the air-current. In usethe greater portion of the fuzzy matter or lint and black speck will be retained by the 4 5 uppermost screen and caused to pass over the tail of the same, so as to be exposed to a stron ger current of air than the meal that passes over the tails of the lower screens. Consequently said lint and black speck will be 5o more ei'ectually removed.

The screens or shakers B are supported in an inclined position within the casing C by means of a strap or spring, c, and an adjusta ble friction-roller, c. A vibratory motion is communicated to the screens by means of a crank or eccentric, D, on the driving-shaft D. The ends or tails of the different screens discharge at an increasing distance from the opening of the air trunk or iiue E', that of the upper screen being nearest and that of the 6o lower one farthest, the objectbeing to expose the tailings from the top screen to a more intense air-draft than the tailings from the other screens, as the railings from the upper screens will contain the greater part of the black speck and other impurities, and, being of a larger size, will require a more intense draft to purify the same.

E is the fan for producing the air current across the tails ofthe screens or sh akers through 7o the air-line E', the air-supply of which is at or a slight distance below the tail of the upper screen, as clearly indicated in Fig. 1. The airflue E is provided at its lower end with an inclined deflecting-plate, e, the action of which 75 is to cause the air-current to be drawn in an inclined direction across the tails of the screens. This fan may be driven in any suitable manner. In the drawings it is shown as driven by a pulley on the drivin g-shaft D of the machine. 8o

F is a receiving-hopper to receive the purified meal as it drops from the tails of the screens or shakers. If desired, this hopper can be divided so as to receive the tailings sep-v arately from the different screens or shakers. 8 5

G is an adjustable damper for regulating the velocity of the air-curreut to different qualities of meal.

Having thus fully described our said invention, what we claim, and desire to secure by 9o ALetters Patent, is`

projecting below the points of discharge of the In testimony whereof we have hereunto set ro material from said shaker, substantially as and our hands. for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination of the air-trunk E', arranged at and projecting below the rear end L of the shaker B, and the shaker B7 having its In presence of- A rear end adjustable vertically with respect to FRANCIS NOHL, said air-trunk, substantially as described, and ROBERT BURNS. for the purpose set forth. 

